Rob is excited because Hooters is finally making it past the District of Columbia line. A development project underway at Gallery Place, next to the MCI Center, will include, among other chain restaurants, a Hooters. On the way to and from work, Rob and I change Metro trains at Gallery Place, so he’ll be able to go for wings right on the way home.
Note to readers appalled by Rob’s objectification of wings and women: Rob’s wife likes the wings, too. So it’s not like he’s just going to go gape at the waitresses unaccompanied.
Note to readers rolling their eyes at another column about the objectification of women: I’m not writing one. Honestly, I don’t have that much of an issue with places like Hooters. I’ve never been to one, but it has less to do with their business premise and more to do with the fact that there are so many other restaurants that offer more interesting food.
And that is the truly egregious problem with the advent of Hooters at Gallery Place. When the MCI Center opened in 1997, it brought with it a major revitalization of that neighborhood. The problem has been, and continues to be, that that neighborhood was Washington D.C.’s own, albeit shrinking, Chinatown. And although that area is now more vibrant than ever, thanks to the pedestrian traffic moving through the neighborhood to attend concerts and sporting events, it also means the rents are higher. Traditional businesses are moving out. Chains are moving in.
Now, where there were local businesses, there is a strip of restaurants that includes Legal Seafood, Ruby Tuesday and Fuddrucker’s. I’m as big a fan of Fuddrucker’s oversize burgers as anyone, but Eat First, a Chinatown staple, got knocked out of the way for something homogenized. That simply doesn’t seem right.
There’s a Starbucks in the neighborhood, now. Sure, they put Chinese characters up on the windows to make it seem part of the community, but I’m really not sure Frappuccino translates.
There are still local gems and places to get fantastic Chinese food. Hit Lei Garden, at 629 H Street NW, for fantastic dim sum at lunch. Skip the buffet downstairs and make your way to the upper level, where Hong Kong-style carts meander among the many tables.
Around the corner, Chinatown Express, at 746 Sixth Street, offers the most incredible house-made noodles (stir-fried or in soup), dumplings and steamed buns that I’ve ever had. Ignore the fact that the place looks like a hole in the wall, and follow your stomach to a bargain lunch or dinner that will not disappoint. And save time to stand outside the window of the restaurant, watching the noodle chef making the noodles by hand.
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